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Level Up Safely

The Christchurch Call Foundation

What are the children in your life getting up to when they play video games online? Online gaming spaces are places of creativity, friendship and fun - but they can also expose young people to bullying, toxicity, misogyny and even violent extremism.

Hear from leading experts who help parents, guardians, caregivers and educators to understand these risks, and warning signs, and learn practical ways to support young people in their online lives.

You'll also hear from a mother whose 15-year-old son was radicalised online. She shares the signs she wishes she'd recognised sooner.

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  • 7 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 27 min
  • English

Episodes 7

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  • S1 · E6
    September 10 · 46 min

    How To Talk to Your Child About Online Harms

    🎮 From slogan T-shirts to coded number patterns - would you recognise the signs that a young person in your life may have been exposed to harmful or extremist content online? 🕹️ In the final episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou explore the changes in behaviour, language and interests that could be cause for concern, the importance of early intervention, and how to start conversations with the young people you care about. Plus, they share practical resources to help you feel more informed and confident when it comes to supporting young people in online gaming spaces. This episode’s guests are: Dr Nicolas Beliz - Clinical psychologist and supervisor at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health George Osborn - Gaming journalist and author of Power Play: Video Games, Politics, And The Global Battle for Influence Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, Christchurch Call Foundation Sarah, Exit Hate UK RESOURCES Check out our free Level Up Safely e-learning course: 🌐christchurchcall.org/learn If you or someone you know needs support, you can find free mental health helplines in your country here: 🌐 findahelpline.com If you're in the UK and are concerned that someone you know may be vulnerable to radicalisation, contact ACT Early for free advice and support: 🌐 actearly.uk 📞 0800 011 3764 If you’re in Canada, visit the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence: 🌐 publicsafety.gc.ca Extremist symbol guides: 📖 https://globalextremism.org/global-extremist-symbols-database/ 📖 https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbols/search About your hosts: Galen Lamphere-Englund leads the Christchurch Call Foundation’s Catalyst consortium dedicated to improving online safety and preventing harms at the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism. Phillippa Guillou is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer and co-founder of OG Podcasts. Connect with Galen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galenenglund Email: catalyst@christchurchcall.org Connect with Phillippa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillippa-guillou Email: philly@ogpodcasts.co.uk

  • S1 · E5
    September 3 · 37 min

    The Dark Side of Sandbox Gaming

    🎮 Sandbox games like Roblox and Minecraft are designed to let young people build whatever they can imagine. But what happens when that freedom is used to build something far more sinister? 🕹️ In episode 5 of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou investigate the harms young people can face in sandbox gaming spaces - from grooming and manipulation to extremist content and communities. You’ll hear from leading researchers who have found evidence of extremists across the ideological spectrum using sandbox spaces to spread their messaging, recruit and fundraise. We also explore documented cases of young people being radicalised through gaming platforms, and how user-generated content is being used to recreate simulations of terrorist attacks and school shootings. Plus, hear how worrying trends like looksmaxxing are infiltrating sandbox games and can act as a gateway to misogynistic ideas. This episode’s guests are: Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, the Christchurch Call Foundation Dr. Linda Schlegel - Co-lead at RadiGaMe, Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt Peter Smith - Investigative journalist RESOURCES Check out our free Level Up Safely e-learning course: 🌐christchurchcall.org/learn If you or someone you know needs support, you can find free mental health helplines in your country here: 🌐 findahelpline.com If you're in the UK and are concerned that someone you know may be vulnerable to radicalisation, contact ACT Early for free advice and support: 🌐 actearly.uk 📞 0800 011 3764 If you’re in Canada, visit the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence: 🌐 publicsafety.gc.ca About your hosts: Galen Lamphere-Englund leads the Christchurch Call Foundation’s Catalyst consortium dedicated to improving online safety and preventing harms at the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism. Phillippa Guillou is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer and co-founder of OG Podcasts. Connect with Galen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galenenglund Email: catalyst@christchurchcall.org Connect with Phillippa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillippa-guillou Email: philly@ogpodcasts.co.uk

  • S1 · E4
    August 27 · 36 min

    From Gaming to the Manosphere: How Misogyny Spreads Online

    🎮 Gaming can be a place of friendship and belonging - but for women and girls, it can also be a space where misogyny, harassment and abuse thrive. 🕹️In the fourth episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou explore how misogyny spreads through gaming communities, how some young people may be drawn into harmful ideas about women, and how these beliefs can intersect with other forms of hate and violent extremism. They look at the rise of trends like looksmaxxing and the harmful impacts they have on men and boys, how seemingly harmless content can lead young people towards more extreme online communities, and why girls and women may feel pressured to change how they behave to feel safer while gaming. You'll also hear from leading experts about the role gaming can play in building positive communities for boys and young men and the important work community moderators do to create digital spaces where everyone feels welcome. This episode’s guests are: Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, the Christchurch Call Foundation Dr Cynthia Miller-Idriss -  founding Director and Chief Vision Officer in the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab, at American University and Author of the book Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism. Caroline Hayes - Senior Technical Specialist on Digital Strategies at Equimundo RESOURCES Check out our free Level Up Safely e-learning course: 🌐christchurchcall.org/learn If you or someone you know needs support, you can find free mental health helplines in your country here: 🌐 findahelpline.com If you're in the UK and are concerned that someone you know may be vulnerable to radicalisation, contact ACT Early for free advice and support: 🌐 actearly.uk 📞 0800 011 3764 If you’re in Canada, visit the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence: 🌐 publicsafety.gc.ca About your hosts: Galen Lamphere-Englund leads the Christchurch Call Foundation’s Catalyst consortium dedicated to improving online safety and preventing harms at the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism. Phillippa Guillou is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer and co-founder of OG Podcasts. Connect with Galen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galenenglund Email: catalyst@christchurchcall.org Connect with Phillippa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillippa-guillou Email: philly@ogpodcasts.co.uk Support for Girls and Women in Online & Gaming Spaces Pirth.org is working to make online safety accessible for everyone. Pirth.org provides resources and support for any sort of online violence, including cyberbullying, doxing, exploitation, harassment, image-based abuse, physical threats, and more. Users create an account, report their experience, and receive a curated personal action plan for free. Anyone can use their services. Consumer Reports offers a free security planning tool, providing customised recommendations based on their security concerns. Areas of focus include online harassment and stalking, keeping social media profiles private, and general best practices for cybersecurity. PEN America's Online Harassment Field Manual is a free guide created with, and for, those disproportionately impacted by online abuse. Witnesses, targets, and anyone active online, will find useful tools and resources here for navigating online abuse and tightening digital safety. https://lila.help/ - Lila Help is a multilingual directory that shares contact information for gender-based violence helplines and non-governmental organizations for nearly every country in the world. https://learn.canadianwomen.org/courses/reclaim-your-digital-space-help-end-gender-based-digital-harm - This free course from the Canadian Women's Foundation helps participants build their media literacy skills, focusing on digital harms including harassment, online hate, and abuse.

  • S1 · E3
    August 20 · 31 min

    A Mother’s Story: Understanding Online Radicalisation

    🎮 Violent extremists are exploiting gaming and gaming-adjacent spaces to spread their ideas, build communities, and attempt to recruit increasingly younger people. 🕹️ In the third episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou investigate how radicalisation to violence can happen online, why some people may be more vulnerable to extremist influence, and the practical steps trusted adults can take to help keep the young people in their lives safe. You'll also hear from Sarah, whose son John was radicalised online by the far-right when he was just 15 years old. She shares her family's experience, the warning signs she wishes she'd recognised sooner, and why early conversations with young people can make a difference. This episode’s guests are: Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, the Christchurch Call Foundation Jacob Davey - Director of Policy & Research for Counter-Hate at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK Sarah, Exit Hate UK RESOURCES Check out our free Level Up Safely e-learning course: 🌐christchurchcall.org/learn If you or someone you know needs support, you can find free mental health helplines in your country here: 🌐 findahelpline.com If you're in the UK and are concerned that someone you know may be vulnerable to radicalisation, contact ACT Early for free advice and support: 🌐 actearly.uk 📞 0800 011 3764 If you’re in Canada, visit the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence: 🌐 publicsafety.gc.ca About your hosts: Galen Lamphere-Englund leads the Christchurch Call Foundation’s Catalyst consortium dedicated to improving online safety and preventing harms at the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism. Phillippa Guillou is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer and co-founder of OG Podcasts. Connect with Galen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galenenglund Email: catalyst@christchurchcall.org Connect with Phillippa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillippa-guillou Email: philly@ogpodcasts.co.uk

  • S1 · E2
    August 13 · 24 min

    Inside Online Gaming: Understanding the Risks Young People Face

    🎮The biggest risks in gaming aren't always hidden in the games themselves - they're often found in the communities and conversations happening around them. 🕹️In the second episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou delve into the different types of harms young people can encounter in gaming spaces - from bullying and toxic behaviour to grooming, sexual exploitation and attempts by extremists to spread their ideas. They also investigate how gaming culture and humour can be used to make harmful messages seem normal, why anonymity in gaming spaces can make bad actors harder to identify, and how conversations moving between platforms are allowing potentially harmful communities to grow out of sight. This episode’s guests are: George Osborn - Gaming journalist and author of Power Play: Video Games, Politics, And The Global Battle for Influence Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, the Christchurch Call Foundation Jacob Davey - Director of Policy & Research for Counter-Hate at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK Sarah, Exit Hate UK RESOURCES Check out our free Level Up Safely e-learning course: 🌐christchurchcall.org/learn If you or someone you know needs support, you can find free mental health helplines in your country here: 🌐 findahelpline.com If you're in the UK and are concerned that someone you know may be vulnerable to radicalisation, contact ACT Early for free advice and support: 🌐 actearly.uk 📞 0800 011 3764 If you’re in Canada, visit the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence: 🌐 publicsafety.gc.ca About your hosts: Galen Lamphere-Englund leads the Christchurch Call Foundation’s Catalyst consortium dedicated to improving online safety and preventing harms at the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism. Phillippa Guillou is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer and co-founder of OG Podcasts. Connect with Galen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galenenglund Email: catalyst@christchurchcall.org Connect with Phillippa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillippa-guillou Email: philly@ogpodcasts.co.uk

  • S1 · E1
    August 6 · 16 min

    The Hidden Dangers of Online Gaming

    🎮Many young people spend hours talking to friends while playing games online - but do you know who else they could meet there? While most experiences are positive, online gaming platforms are increasingly exposing young people to bullying, misogyny and even violent extremist content. 🕹️In the first episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou explore how video games became the world's biggest entertainment industry, why they're so appealing to young people, and how bad actors are exploiting these spaces to spread harmful content. You'll also hear about real-world attacks with strongly gamified elements and the story of a mother whose teenage son was radicalised by far-right extremists online. This episode’s guests are: George Osborn - Gaming journalist and author of Power Play: Video Games, Politics, And The Global Battle for Influence Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, Christchurch Call Foundation Sarah, Exit Hate UK RESOURCES Check out our free Level Up Safely e-learning course: 🌐christchurchcall.org/learn If you or someone you know needs support, you can find free mental health helplines in your country here: 🌐 findahelpline.com If you're in the UK and are concerned that someone you know may be vulnerable to radicalisation, contact ACT Early for free advice and support: 🌐 actearly.uk 📞 0800 011 3764 If you’re in Canada, visit the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence: 🌐 publicsafety.gc.ca About your hosts: Galen Lamphere-Englund leads The Christchurch Call Foundation’s Catalyst consortium, dedicated to improving online safety and preventing harms at the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism. Phillippa Guillou is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer and co-founder of OG Podcasts. Connect with Galen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galenenglund Email: catalyst@christchurchcall.org Connect with Phillippa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillippa-guillou Email: philly@ogpodcasts.co.uk

  • July 31 · 1 min

    Trailer: Level Up Safely

    What are the children in your life getting up to when they play video games online? Online gaming spaces are places of creativity, friendship and fun - but they can also expose young people to bullying, toxicity, misogyny and even violent extremism. In this new podcast from the Christchurch Call Foundation, hear from leading experts who help parents, guardians, caregivers and educators to understand these risks, and warning signs, and learn practical ways to support young people in their online lives. You'll also hear from a mother whose 15-year-old son was radicalised online. She shares the signs she wishes she'd recognised sooner. About your hosts: Galen Lamphere-Englund leads The Christchurch Call Foundations Catalyst consortium dedicated to improving online safety and preventing harms at the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism. Phillippa Guillou is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer and co-founder of OG Podcasts. For more info visit christchurchcall.org c055835b10343e2e43f66069b8ec5aa5a2aa4cae

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